Job summary
Are you passionate about nutrition support and keen to extend your skills in managing complex patients? Several of our valued team members are moving on to Band 7 roles both internally and externally, resulting in an exciting opportunity for experienced dietitians to join our friendly community nutrition support team.
Our Band 6s provide specialist assessment & intervention for community patients requiring home enteral feeding and/or complex oral nutrition support, acting as a resource for junior staff and other health professionals in the management of undernutrition across Birmingham.
We are seeking dietitians with some experience of nutrition support, with excellent communication and time management skills, and a patient-centred and solution-focused professional practice.
We offer a flexible working environment in a supportive team, with the opportunity to build fulfilling relationships with your patients and colleagues.
Main duties of the job
You will manage a caseload of home enteral feeding and complex oral nutrition support patients in your own defined geographical area in Birmingham - this includes visiting patients in their own homes and care homes, and carrying out community clinics via telephone or in health centres around the city. We try to arrange this practically to avoid excessive travel time for our team members.
After a comprehensive induction you will have a high degree of autonomy in managing your caseload but we are a welcoming supportive team - there is always someone available to message or call, and we meet regularly face to face for clinical supervision and service development.
You will give clinical supervision to our Band 4 and 5s, who see the majority of our oral nutrition support patients, supporting their development by giving them graded exposure to the more complex patients on your caseload. We are also proud to provide highly rated supervision to dietetic learners and apprentices.
The most important skills and qualities for success in this role are:
the ability to communicate with a diverse range of people and build strong working relationships
the willingness to build on and share your clinical knowledge in nutrition support and the medical conditions our patients live with
developing the ability to take complex, evidence-based decisions both in the management of individual patients and prioritisation of your overall caseload.
About us
Key things our team members tell us they appreciate about working in the community nutrition support team are the greater opportunities for flexible working and maintaining work-life balance (our patients also benefit from our increased flexibility and responsiveness), and the hard-working, kind and supportive ethos of the team. Team members have diverse backgrounds and experience in clinical areas such as oncology, neurorehabilitation, paediatrics and diabetes, and we love to share our knowledge to ensure the best outcomes for our patients.
In terms of the wider department, Birmingham Community Nutrition provides a comprehensive community citywide service and employs over 70 staff. We also support the training of dietetic students from two higher education institutions (A, B & C placements). We actively participate in clinical audit and service development.
Benefits of working for Birmingham Community Nutrition include free parking, excellent access to IT equipment to work flexibly, up to date office facilities and comprehensive admin support dedicated to the service.
The department has a structured approach to Clinical Governance and your personal development via preceptorship, annual appraisals, clinical supervision and training opportunities. Career development, flexible working and staff support are given high priority in the Trust, whose goal is to be a truly inclusive organisation and a great place to work.
Job responsibilities
Please see the attached job description & person specification document for a detailed description of the duties, responsibilities and key relationships of the role.
Highlights include:
adhering to HCPC standards of proficiency, continuing professional development, conduct, performance and ethics
undertaking comprehensive assessment of patients' clinical needs in a holistic manner using specialised knowledge and a broad range of nutritional assessment skills, measurement and techniques
negotiating and agreeing nutritional goals with patients/carers using advanced communication skills, including identifying barriers to change and helping patients/carers to manage them
liaising with a range of patients, carers, health professionals and suppliers to ensure the provision of effective nutrition support
managing risk within own clinical caseload and escalating where appropriate
MDT working with teams inside and outside the Trust
contributing to clinical governance and quality improvement in the service including audit, research, clinical outcome measures, EPR improvement, and the development and review of local clinical pathways and policies
achieving basic competencies in knowledge and care of enteral feeding tubes
professional development opportunities such as the PENG Clinical Update course, and further shadowing and/or study relating to a range of clinical areas such as neurodegenerative conditions, COPD, dementia, dysphagia, enteral feeding and more, in order to develop and consolidate the skills to work with complex patients
supervision, teaching, co-ordination and assessment of students and junior staff
producing practical advice and resources by interpreting, translating and critically evaluating evidence and making this relevant to the intended audience.
Person Specification
Qualifications / training
Essential
Dietitian registered with Health Professions Council
Evidence of Continual Professional Development
Degree in Nutrition/Dietetics
Experience
Essential
Substantive experience of post registration clinical dietetics
Evidence of developing, implementing and evaluating projects
Evidence of interest in nutrition support and home enteral feeding
Evidence of multi disciplinary working
Evidence of delivering training sessions
Desirable
Experience of teaching and assessing students
Experience of supervising staff
Skills/knowledge
Essential
Ability to demonstrate verbal communication skills and presentation skills
Ability to generate written communication that is relevant, concise, accurate and legible
Ability to work within a multicultural setting, including ability to teach groups and individuals from different backgrounds
Ability to apply nutritional knowledge in a variety of settings
Ability to plan and manage own time
Demonstrates a sound knowledge and application of up-to-date evidence based clinical trends and practices
Desirable
A demonstrable understanding of dietetics within a community setting
An ability to use information technology to maximise personal effectiveness, or a willingness to develop these skills
An ability to demonstrate individual and team responsibility in respect of health and safety
Personal qualities
Essential
An ability to be very flexible in a changing environment
An ability to work independently
An ability to demonstrate a commitment to team working
An ability to develop and maintain links with outside agencies
An ability to learn and apply knowledge appropriately
An ability to use tact and diplomacy where necessary
Desirable
Demonstrates innovative ideas
Other job requirements
Essential
Ability to travel to different venues within the city, transporting equipment such as scales
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration.
Employer details
Employer name
Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS FT
Address
Gee Business Centre
Holborn Hill
Birmingham
B7 5JR
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